over time he's served us in operation joint endeavor, operation noble eagle and operation iraqi freedom. i yield to the gentleman from nevada. mr. heck: thank you, i'd like to thank my brother in uniform, the gentleman from ohio, for organizing this very important special order to pay tribute to some very special people. america's veterans. america's heroes. i'm going to tell a story that i think epitomizes the very sacrifice and dedication that our men and women in uniform have to this nation. the date was february 21, 2008. the place was al-assad, anbar province, iraq. i was assigned as chief of emergency services and air medical evacuation at combat support hospital. combat support hospital is similar to any inner city emergency department with periods of hustle and bustle, kind of routine stuff, punctuated by moments of controlled chaos and sheer terror. such was that day on february 21. we were taking care of routine cases in the emergency services section, when the radio crackled and we received a call from an incoming helicopter saying they were bringing in a young marine who had